If you had to identify one week in world history that was the greatest, which week would you choose? Would it be the week of D-Day or Germany’s final surrender? Would it be the week that Alexander the Great took charge foreshadowing his eventual kingdom? Would it be the week of the Battle of Hastings that began the Norman Conquest? These and many others certainly vie for the title of Greatest Week in Human History.

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying the lovely weather in Shenandoah County. My mother calls me every day and rubs it in my face that the weather there is like 60-70 degrees and I sit in my dorm writing this blog with the temperature below 25 degrees this morning!

In the men teacher’s bathroom of a local school is a sign on the towel dispenser that reads: “Your students may not remember your words, but they will always remember how they made them feel.” That small, hand-done sign is, for me, a reminder of the responsibility of teaching, and it is a reminder of how fortunate I am to have had Mr. Bob Mauldin as a teacher and coach.

Last week I began to share a little of what mom did that enabled her to die well when her time came to go on Christmas Day 2014. First and foremost was her decision to accept Jesus as her Savior and trust Him completely for the forgiveness of her sins and eternal life beyond the grave. If we wish to die well, each of us must take this first very important step in our lives.

There are nine 2015 Dodge Charger muscle cars either all new or redesigned for 2015, the year of the Charger’s 100th birthday, including the new Hellcat, the fastest and most powerful sedan on the road today.

When I became a teacher for Shenandoah County, I was given, like all county employees, an email account for professional use, and if I chose, personal use. I had a computer in my classroom to use, and I had access to well-trained IT personnel to help me if a problem developed with my account(s). I did not have to worry about breaches of the account because the IT department took good care of that.

A story from the Bible comes to mind: King David has taken for himself Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite. The prophet Nathan comes to him and tells a story of similar wrong-doing. Not recognizing himself in the story, King David becomes righteously outraged. At this point, Nathan springs the trap and declares: “Thou art the man!”

Yesterday morning I heard an advertisement for a forthcoming interview on The Today Show in which the interviewee, Vince Vaughn, says to describe his acting, “I try to be naturalistic.” I cringed on hearing his use of naturalistic. I am sure that he wants to be seen as a natural, not one who imitates nature. By using the wrong word, Vaughn describes himself as the opposite of how he desires to be seen by his fans. His mistake.

Ever since Honda began selling the first hybrid in the United States 15 years ago, Toyota and Honda have fiercely competed in improving hybrid technology in bigger sedans with more horsepower and better mileage. Virtually unchanged from when it was introduced in 2014, the top-of-the-line mid-size Touring hybrid model remains the shining star of Honda’s hybrid line-up (there are also hybrid Civics, CRZ-Sports and Insights). It battles head to head with Toyota’s Camry XLE hybrid.

Ah, the uproars over fairness and social/economic inequality found on the Opinion Page of the Northern Virginia Daily! Trying my best to do what any conscientious guest antiques columnist would do, I’m impelled to ask how such uproars, should they ever produce a transformed America, might affect the collecting of precious objects from the past.

This past week has been special to many young people in our valley as they celebrated the FFA. I so appreciate the influence of this great organization in my own life and in the lives of millions of others that have been members over the years. I invite you to salute these teenagers and their selfless Advisors who volunteer their time and energy to develop our youth into responsible competent leaders.